Proposal templates
Consulting proposal template
Objective, approach, deliverables and fees for an engagement — structured the way a client actually evaluates a consultant.
Preview
See the template as a client-facing document, then open the same starting point inside Hanko.
Meridian Advisory
Operating model review
Give the leadership team a decision-ready operating model and a prioritized plan for the next quarter.
Approach
Interview stakeholders, test hypotheses against operating data, and facilitate a decision workshop with accountable owners.
Scope of work
Stakeholder interviews
Current-state diagnostic
Options and trade-off analysis
Leadership decision workshop
Deliverables and handover
Evidence-backed diagnostic
Target operating model
Executive decision memo
90-day implementation roadmap
Timeline
Discovery and evidence
Phase 140%
Options review
Phase 230%
Executive readout
Phase 330%
Engagement investment
Total investment
Discovery and evidence
Options review
Executive readout
Review the scope and payment schedule before accepting.
Assumptions and boundaries
Recommendations depend on timely access to stakeholders and business data. Implementation is a separate engagement.
Ready to get started?
Accept this proposal to lock in the timeline and kick off the engagement.
What this is
A consulting proposal sets out what a consultant will help a client achieve, how, over what timeline, for what fee — distinct from a statement of work in that it's the pitch, sent before anything is signed.
When to use it
- Pitching a defined engagement (a strategy review, an operational audit, an advisory retainer)
- After an initial conversation, to formalize scope and price before a contract
- When competing against other consultants for the same engagement
What to include
The engagement objective
What decision or outcome the client needs help with — stated in their terms, not consulting jargon.
Approach
How you'll get there — phases of work, not a generic methodology description.
Deliverables
What the client actually receives — a report, a framework, a set of recommendations, working sessions — stated concretely.
Fee structure
Fixed fee, hourly, or retainer, and what's included at that price versus billed separately (e.g., travel).
Availability and access needed
What you need from the client's side — stakeholder time, data access — to hit the proposed timeline.
Template text
Copy this into your own document, or open it directly as a branded starting point in Hanko. Bracketed text like [Client Name] is a placeholder to fill in.
Consulting Proposal for [Client Company Name]
Prepared for: [Client Contact Name], [Title]
Prepared by: [Your Name/Firm]
Date: [Date] | Valid until: [Date]
Engagement objective
[1-2 sentences on the specific decision or outcome the client needs help with — e.g., 'Evaluate whether to build or acquire a new product line, and produce a recommendation with financial modeling by Q[X].']
Proposed approach
Phase 1 — [e.g., Discovery & data review]: [description]
Phase 2 — [e.g., Analysis]: [description]
Phase 3 — [e.g., Recommendations & presentation]: [description]
Deliverables
• [e.g., Written report with findings and recommendation]
• [e.g., Financial model/spreadsheet]
• [e.g., Presentation to leadership team]
• [e.g., Follow-up working session within 30 days]
Timeline
Total duration: [X weeks]
Key checkpoint: [e.g., mid-point review at week X]
Final delivery: [date]
Fees
Fixed engagement fee: $[amount], billed [50% on start / 50% on delivery, or per phase]
— or —
Hourly rate: $[rate]/hour, estimated at [X] hours
— or —
Monthly advisory retainer: $[amount]/month, [X] hours included
Expenses (travel, if applicable) billed separately at cost.
What we need from you
[e.g., Access to relevant data/systems within the first week, two hours of stakeholder time per week, a single point of contact for questions.]
Next steps
Accept below to move to a signed consulting agreement and kickoff.
[Signature / Accept button] Date: [___]
How to customize it
- Write the objective in the client's own language from your conversation, not generic consulting framing
- If the engagement is genuinely open-ended, propose a retainer instead of forcing a fixed fee onto undefined scope
- State exactly what you need from the client's side — vague access requirements are a common source of timeline slippage
- Match the fee structure to how much scope certainty you actually have
Common mistakes
- Describing your consulting methodology in the abstract instead of applying it to this specific engagement
- No stated checkpoint before final delivery, so the client has no chance to redirect mid-engagement
- Fixed fee quoted for a genuinely undefined problem, which sets up disputes over scope later
- Omitting what you need from the client, then blaming timeline slippage on 'lack of access' after the fact
Frequently asked questions
Should a consulting proposal include an hourly rate or a fixed fee?
A fixed fee for well-scoped, deliverable-based engagements; hourly or a retainer for open-ended advisory work. State the reasoning in the proposal so the client understands why.
How much detail should the 'approach' section include?
Enough to show you have a real method, not so much that it reads like free consulting. A named phase structure with one sentence of description per phase is usually the right depth for a proposal.
Is a consulting proposal legally binding?
No — it's the pitch. A signed consulting agreement (see the Consulting Agreement template) is what makes the terms binding.
Other templates
Send this proposal, then bill by phase or retainer
Build it as a branded proposal in Hanko and carry it straight into a signed agreement and invoicing.